Rocks Ahead for Consolidation
A court has ruled that the consolidation between Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank be halted until the end of June.
As the result, Hana Financial Group’s plan to launch a new business entity in April cannot move forward, and the financial authorities, which predicted that it would give its approval even without any agreement with the labor union, are stunned.
In addition, the court did not acknowledge Hana’s grounds such as the survival of Korea Exchange Bank, which means the entire consolidation process could go awry.
The court ruling is likely to lead to the labor union raising its voice and the opposition party joining it. Then, it is not easy for the financial authorities to give its preliminary permission by June. Even if the authorities push ahead with the process through a provisional approval in June, the new entity cannot be launched until August or September.
If the talks with the labor union go wrong, the business integration is unlikely to be attained for a while.